What happens at the Oscars and other awards shows has me thinking about a topic Elizabeth Gilbert discusses in her book “Big Magic” and on the TED stage. It's the origin story of the tortured artist, a story filled with fear, rejection, failure, anxiety, depression, and I’m guessing, played out at least once in all of our lives.

This melodrama began during the Renaissance and the rise of humanism 500 years ago, when The Mind took home the award for Best Everything, when we started to take all of the credit, leaving none to share with the divine and mysterious. Ultimately, under the weight of our successes and the pressure to produce more of them, we started to crack. This way of thinking and living has claimed many victims along the way.

But it doesn’t have to. Elizabeth suggests a return to the ancient understanding of humans and creativity, when humans didn’t own genius, genius was on loan to you. You weren’t a genius, you had a genius, a divine spirit to guide and inspire you, like Dobby the house elf she says.

This week, our practice is to make space between ourselves and the results of our work. Be brave and give it your best. The rest isn’t up to you. Phew! Do you, boo boo.